and sisters and their issue, and grandparents of the
deceased; and uncles and aunts and their issue. The
presence of the first category of heirs will exclude
the other two from inheriting.
In constructing a typology of male and female
relatives based on their relationship with the
deceased, Shì≠ìlaw treats male and female relatives
equally. It stipulates that any descendant, male or
female, in the first category will always exclude the
collateral, that is, the second tier (the brothers and
sisters of a deceased). Hence the daughter of the
deceased will exclude the brother. If she is the only
survivor, she will even exclude a distant male
agnate such as a cousin from inheritance. Further-
more, the presence of a son’s or daughter’s daugh-
ter will also exclude the siblings of the deceased
because a daughter or her offspring belong to the
first category of heirs whereas brothers and sisters
belong to the second.
Through this principle, female and cognate rela-
tives are integrated within the Shì≠ìclasses of heirs.
Thus the presence of any other relatives in Shì≠ì
law – child, grandchild, or the mother – precludes
the brothers and paternal grandparents from any
rights of succession. Reflecting the patriarchal
nature of Arab society where men were responsible
for the maintenance of women, the Qur±ànic prin-
ciple that the male relative receives double the share
of the female is also enforced in Shì≠ìlaw.
Shì≠ìs prefer the nearer relative to the more dis-
tant. They say that one who is related through both
parents excludes the consanguine (agnate). Hence a
full sister excludes a consanguine brother. Sunnì
law, on the other hand emphasizes the concept of
the family group by recognizing the claims of
agnate collaterals.
Political considerations may have influenced the
development of the Shì≠ìscheme of inheritance. The
principle that cognate relationship is a stronger
basis for succession than agnate ties and that the
claims of collateral are subordinate to those of
lineal descendants validate the reported claims of
Fà†ima to inherit an estate (called Fadak) from her
father, a claim that was rejected by AbùBakr. The
principle of cognate inheritance would also legit-
imize succession in the female line as all the imams
were descendants of the Prophet through Fà†ima.
overview 449The Shì≠ìs believe that their laws accurately rep-
resent the Qur±ànic spirit. Their acceptance of
mut≠a is based on a Qur±ànic verse that endorses the
practice; their rejection of the triple †alàq and the
rights of agnate relatives is premised on the view
that these have no Qur±ànic basis. For the Shì≠ìs,
customary laws could only be implemented if they
were explicitly endorsed in the Qur±àn. For the
Sunnìs, they could only be repudiated if the Qur±àn
explicitly rejected them. This was one major reason
for the differences between the Shì≠ìand Sunnìlegal
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